U.S. patent number 8,594,573 [Application Number 13/177,156] was granted by the patent office on 2013-11-26 for short range wireless communications.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Polar Electro Oy. The grantee listed for this patent is Juhani Kemppainen, Jari Miettinen. Invention is credited to Juhani Kemppainen, Jari Miettinen.
United States Patent |
8,594,573 |
Miettinen , et al. |
November 26, 2013 |
Short range wireless communications
Abstract
This document presents a wireless communication scheme utilizing
a combination of two wireless communication schemes: a short range
communication scheme and a radio communication scheme having a
longer wireless transmission range than the wireless transmission
range of the short range communication scheme. A short range signal
is used to indicate a radio resource to be used for transmitting a
radio signal, and the radio signal is then communicated in the
radio resource indicated by the short range signal.
Inventors: |
Miettinen; Jari (Oulu,
FI), Kemppainen; Juhani (Oulu, FI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Miettinen; Jari
Kemppainen; Juhani |
Oulu
Oulu |
N/A
N/A |
FI
FI |
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|
Assignee: |
Polar Electro Oy (Kempele,
FI)
|
Family
ID: |
42555485 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/177,156 |
Filed: |
July 6, 2011 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20120009875 A1 |
Jan 12, 2012 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jul 9, 2010 [FI] |
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20105790 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/41.2;
370/478; 455/127.4; 455/231 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B
5/0075 (20130101); A61B 5/02438 (20130101); A61B
5/0006 (20130101); A61B 5/7285 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04B
7/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/41.2,231,127.4,171.1,456.1 ;370/478,337 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2107837 |
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Oct 2009 |
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EP |
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2335563 |
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Jun 2011 |
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EP |
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WO2008059460 |
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May 2008 |
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WO |
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Other References
Tomi Koskinen, Finnish Search Report for corresponding Finnish
Application No. 20105790, p. 1 (May 2, 2011). cited by applicant
.
Yves Vanderperren, European Search Report for corresponding
European Application No. EP11172320, pp. 1-4 (Oct. 28, 2011). cited
by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Dao; Minh D
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hoffmann & Baron, LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus comprising: a transmission control circuitry
configured to control a short-range transmitter; and a radio
transmitter operationally connectable to the transmission control
circuitry, the radio transmitter having a longer wireless
transmission range than a wireless transmission range of the
short-range transmitter, wherein the transmission control circuitry
is configured to cause the short-range transmitter to transmit a
short-range signal indicating to a receiver apparatus receiving the
short-range signal a radio resource used for transmission of a
radio signal, and to cause the radio transmitter to transmit the
radio signal in the radio resource indicated with the short-range
signal, wherein the radio resource indicated with the short-range
signal is a transmission timing of the radio signal, wherein the
transmission control circuitry is arranged to cause the
transmission of the radio signal at the transmission timing
indicated in the short-range signal.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a transmission timing of the
short-range signal indicates the transmission timing of the radio
signal.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein there is fixed time interval
between the transmission timing of the short-range signal and the
transmission timing of the radio signal.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the short-range signal is a
measurement signal carrying information on a measurement, and
wherein the apparatus further comprises a measurement processing
circuitry configured to execute measurement signal processing at
irregular time intervals, wherein the execution of the measurement
causes the measurement processing circuitry to generate measurement
data which triggers said transmission of the short-range signal,
thereby causing irregular transmission timings for said short-range
signals.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the measurement signal is a
heart-rate signal and wherein the transmitter apparatus is a
heart-rate transmitter.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radio signal carries an
identification code that identifies the radio transmitter and that
is used for initiating a pairing protocol for a radio connection,
and wherein the transmission control circuitry is configured to
control the radio transmitter to initiate the pairing protocol with
a radio receiver apparatus after transmitting the identification
code.
7. An apparatus comprising: a transmission control circuitry
configured to control a short-range transmitter; and a radio
transmitter operationally connectable to the transmission control
circuitry, the radio transmitter having a longer wireless
transmission range than a wireless transmission range of the
short-range transmitter, wherein the transmission control circuitry
is configured to cause the short-range transmitter to transmit a
short-range signal indicating to a receiver apparatus receiving the
short-range signal a radio resource used for transmission of a
radio signal, and to cause the radio transmitter to transmit the
radio signal in the radio resource indicated with the short-range
signal, wherein the short-range transmitter is an induction-based
transmitter and the short range signal is a magnetic signal.
8. A method, comprising: causing, in a wireless communication
apparatus, communication of a short-range signal indicating a radio
resource used for transmission of a radio signal, wherein the radio
signal has a longer wireless communication range than a wireless
communication range of the short-range signal, and causing, in the
wireless communication apparatus, communication of the radio signal
in the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal,
wherein the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal is
a communication timing of the radio signal, wherein the wireless
communication apparatus is arranged to cause the communication of
the radio signal at the communication timing indicated in the
short-range signal.
9. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory
distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program
instructions which, when executed by the computer, perform a
computer process comprising: causing, in a wireless communication
apparatus, communication of a short-range signal indicating a radio
resource used for transmission of a radio signal, wherein the radio
signal has a longer wireless communication range than a wireless
communication range of the short-range signal, and causing, in the
wireless communication apparatus, communication of the radio signal
in the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal,
wherein the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal is
a communication timing of the radio signal, wherein the wireless
communication apparatus is arranged to cause the communication of
the radio signal at the communication timing indicated in the
short-range signal.
10. An apparatus comprising: a reception control circuitry
configured to control a short-range receiver and a radio receiver
both operationally connectable to the reception control circuitry,
wherein the reception control circuitry is configured to detect
reception of a short-range signal in the short-range receiver, to
determine from the received short-range signal a radio resource of
a radio signal, and to cause the radio receiver to receive the
radio signal in the radio resource determined from the short-range
signal and to decode data carried by received radio signal, wherein
the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal is a
transmission timing of the radio signal, wherein the reception
control circuitry is arranged to cause the reception of the radio
signal at the transmission timing indicated in the short-range
signal.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the radio resource indicated
with the short-range signal is a reception timing of the radio
signal, and the reception control circuitry is arranged to
synchronize the radio reception circuitry to receive the radio
signal at the reception timing determined from the received
short-range signal.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the reception timing of the
short-range signal indicates the reception timing of the radio
signal.
13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the short-range signal is a
measurement signal carrying information on a measurement, and the
reception control circuitry is arranged to receive short range
signals at irregular time intervals.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the measurement signal is a
heart-rate signal and the receiver apparatus is an exercise
apparatus configured to process the measurement signal and to
provide information on an exercise on the basis of the processed
measurement signal.
15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the radio signal carries an
identification code that identifies a radio transmitter that
transmitted the radio signal, and the reception control circuitry
is arranged to identify the radio transmitter from the
identification code received in the radio signal associated with
the radio resource indicated by the received short range signal and
to configure the radio receiver to execute a pairing protocol for a
radio connection with said radio transmitter.
16. An apparatus comprising: a reception control circuitry
configured to control a short-range receiver and a radio receiver
both operationally connectable to the reception control circuitry,
wherein the reception control circuitry is configured to detect
reception of a short-range signal in the short-range receiver, to
determine from the received short-range signal a radio resource of
a radio signal, and to cause the radio receiver to receive the
radio signal in the radio resource determined from the short-range
signal and to decode data carried by received radio signal, wherein
the short-range receiver is an induction-based receiver and the
short range signal is a magnetic signal.
17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the reception control
circuitry is arranged to compare a reception timing of a radio
signal received through the radio receiver with a reception timing
of the short-range signal and to decode the radio signal, if the
reception timing of the radio signal relative to the reception
timing of the short-range signal matches with a predetermined
timing relation.
18. A method, comprising: causing, in a short-range transmitter of
a wireless communication apparatus, communication of a short-range
signal indicating a radio resource used for transmission of a radio
signal, wherein the radio signal has a longer wireless
communication range than a wireless communication range of the
short-range signal, and causing, in the wireless communication
apparatus, communication of the radio signal in the radio resource
indicated with the short-range signal, wherein the short-range
transmitter is an induction-based transmitter and the short range
signal is a magnetic signal.
19. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory
distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program
instructions which, when executed by the computer, perform a
computer process comprising: causing, in a short range transmitter
of a wireless communication apparatus, communication of a
short-range signal indicating a radio resource used for
transmission of a radio signal, wherein the radio signal has a
longer wireless communication range than a wireless communication
range of the short-range signal, and causing, in the wireless
communication apparatus, communication of the radio signal in the
radio resource indicated with the short-range signal, wherein the
short-range transmitter is an induction-based transmitter and the
short range signal is a magnetic signal.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority based on Finnish Application No.
20105790, filed Jul. 9, 2010, which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
The invention relates to the field of wireless short range
communications.
2. Description of the Related Art
A transmitter apparatus, such as a heart rate monitor, may
communicate information, such as heart activity data, to a receiver
apparatus, such as an exercise apparatus, over a wireless link.
However, as there may be many transmitter apparatuses present in a
gym, for example, it may be problematic to find out which
transmitter apparatus wishes to be paired together with a specific
receiver apparatus or which pair of a transmitter apparatus and a
receiver apparatus should communicate with each other.
SUMMARY
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided
an apparatus comprising a transmission control circuitry configured
to control a short-range transmitter and a radio transmitter
operationally connectable to the transmission control circuitry,
the radio transmitter having a longer wireless transmission range
than a wireless transmission range of the short-range transmitter,
wherein the transmission control circuitry is configured to cause
the short-range transmitter to transmit a short-range signal
indicating to a receiver apparatus receiving the short-range signal
a radio resource used for transmission of a radio signal, and to
cause the radio transmitter to transmit the radio signal in the
radio resource indicated with the short-range signal.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a method comprising: causing, in a wireless communication
apparatus, communication of a short-range signal indicating a radio
resource used for transmission of a radio signal, wherein the radio
signal has a longer wireless communication range than a wireless
communication range of the short-range signal; and causing, in the
wireless communication apparatus communication of the radio signal
in the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an apparatus comprising means for carrying out the
above-mentioned method.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory
distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program
instructions which, when loaded into the computer, execute a
computer process comprising: causing, in a wireless communication
apparatus, communication of a short-range signal indicating a radio
resource used for transmission of a radio signal, wherein the radio
signal has a longer wireless communication range than a wireless
communication range of the short-range signal, and causing, in the
wireless communication apparatus communication of the radio signal
in the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal.
According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising a
reception control circuitry configured to control a short-range
receiver and a radio receiver both operationally connectable to the
reception control circuitry. The reception control circuitry is
configured to detect reception of a short-range signal in the
short-range receiver, to determine from the received short-range
signal a radio resource of a radio signal, and to cause the radio
receiver to receive the radio signal in the radio resource
determined from the short-range signal and to decode data carried
by received radio signal.
In an embodiment, the radio resource indicated with the short-range
signal is a reception timing of the radio signal, and the reception
control circuitry is arranged to synchronize the radio reception
circuitry to receive the radio signal at the reception timing
determined from the received short-range signal.
In an embodiment, the reception timing of the short-range signal
indicates the reception timing of the radio signal.
In an embodiment, the short-range signal is a measurement signal
carrying information on a measurement, and the reception control
circuitry is arranged to receive short range signals at irregular
time intervals.
In an embodiment, the measurement signal is a heart-rate signal and
the receiver apparatus is an exercise apparatus configured to
process the measurement signal and to provide information on an
exercise on the basis of the processed measurement signal.
In an embodiment, the radio signal carries an identification code
that identifies a radio transmitter that transmitted the radio
signal, and the reception control circuitry is arranged to identify
the radio transmitter from the identification code received in the
radio signal associated with the radio resource indicated by the
received short range signal and to configure the radio receiver to
execute a pairing protocol for a radio connection with said radio
transmitter.
In an embodiment, the short-range receiver is an induction-based
receiver and the short range signal is a magnetic signal.
In an embodiment, the reception control circuitry is arranged to
compare a reception timing of a radio signal received through the
radio receiver with a reception timing of the short-range signal
and to decode the radio signal, if the reception timing of the
radio signal relative to the reception timing of the short-range
signal matches with a predetermined timing relation.
Further embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention are described below, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which
FIG. 1 illustrates block diagrams of devices according to
embodiments of the invention;
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate communication modes according to
embodiments of the invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates time diagrams related to wireless communication
according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process for carrying out wireless
communication according to an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a short range signal pulse that
may be used in connection with embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification
may refer to "an", "one", or "some" embodiment(s) in several
locations, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference
is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only applies to a
single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may
also be combined to provide other embodiments. Furthermore, words
"comprising" and "including" should be understood as not limiting
the described embodiments to consist of only those features that
have been mentioned and such embodiments may contain also
features/structures that have not been specifically mentioned.
FIG. 1 illustrates a transmitter apparatus 100 and a receiver
apparatus 106. FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram that only shows
some elements and functional entities, all being logical units
whose implementation may differ from what is shown. The connections
shown in FIG. 1 are logical connections; the actual physical
connections may be different. It is apparent to a person skilled in
the art that the described apparatuses 100, 106 may also comprise
other functions and structures, e.g. a memory and/or a user
interface. It should be appreciated that some functions,
structures, and elements, and the actual protocols used for
communication may vary in different embodiments of the invention.
Therefore, they need not be discussed in more detail here. The
specifications of apparatuses 100, 106 develop rapidly. Such a
development may require extra changes to the described embodiments.
Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly
and they are intended to illustrate, not to restrict, the
embodiments. Although the apparatuses 100, 106 have been depicted
as separate single entities, different parts may be implemented in
one or more physical or logical entities.
The term `transmitter apparatus` 100 may refer to a complete device
that a user is capable of carrying around, or to a part of such a
device. The complete device 100 may be a heart rate monitor, a
heart rate transmitter wearable on the chest of a user, or another
personal measurement device, for example a positioning device, a
stride sensor or a blood pressure monitor. A part of such a device
100 may be an electronic circuitry implementing or causing the
implementation of the described functionalities of the transmitter
apparatus 100. The electronic circuit may comprise one or more
digital signal processors configurable by software, logic
components, standard integrated circuits, and/or
application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC).
The term `receiver apparatus` 106 may refer to a complete device
capable of interacting with the transmitter apparatus 100, or to a
part of such a device. The complete device 106 may be a computer, a
wearable exercise apparatus, e.g. a wrist computer, a portable
computer, a mobile phone, or a health club apparatus, for example.
A part of such a device 106 may be an electronic circuit
implementing or causing the implementation of the described
functionalities of the receiver apparatus 106. The computer may be
a personal computer such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer,
or a palmtop computer. The computer may also be a server computer.
The computer may store and process heart activity data of numerous
persons. The computer may be team-specific, i.e. it is used to
process the heart activity data of a certain team. Alternatively,
the computer may provide heart activity data storage and analysis
services to a wide audience, as a world-wide web (WWW) server over
the Internet, for example. If the receiver apparatus 106 is an
exercise apparatus, such as a treadmill, the training load may be
regulated, a diary may be stored, etc. by utilizing the
communication to be described later on.
The transmitter apparatus 100 comprises a wireless transmission
circuitry comprising two communication devices: a short range
transmitter 102 and a radio transmitter 104, wherein at least one
of the short range transmitter 102 and the radio transmitter 104
may be provided with reception functionalities as well. The short
range transmitter 102 and the radio transmitter 104 may be provided
as separate logical and physical entities realized by separate
circuits comprised in the wireless transmission circuitry, or they
may be physically in the same circuit. The short range transmitter
102 may comprise a digital to analog converter converting a digital
transmission signal into analog waveforms, and an analog
transmission circuitry including at least one amplifier arranged to
amplify the analog transmission signal, at least one filter
filtering the analog transmission signal to mitigate undesired
signal components, optionally at least one frequency converter
configured to frequency-convert the transmission signal, and an
antenna radiating the transmission signal into an air interface. In
an embodiment, the antenna is typically based on a coil structure
enabling inductive signal transmission used in the short-range
transmission.
The radio transmitter 104 may comprise a digital-to-analog
converter converting a digital transmission signal into analog
waveforms, and an analog transmission circuitry including at least
one amplifier arranged to amplify the analog transmission signal,
at least one filter filtering the analog transmission signal to
mitigate undesired signal components, at least one frequency
converter configured to frequency-convert the transmission signal
into a radio frequency, and an antenna radiating the transmission
signal into an air interface. The antenna may be different from the
antenna comprised in the short range transmitter 102. When the
radio transmitter 104 is equipped with reception capabilities, the
radio transmitter 104 is a radio transceiver comprising a reception
circuitry including said radio antenna, at least one amplifier
arranged to amplify an analog reception signal received through the
antenna, at least one filter filtering the analog reception signal
to mitigate undesired signal components, at least one frequency
converter configured to frequency-convert the reception signal from
the radio frequency into a baseband or to an intermediate
frequency, and an analog-to-digital converter converting the analog
reception signal into a digital form for digital signal processing
and data recovery.
The receiver apparatus 106 comprises a wireless reception circuitry
comprising a short range receiver 108 and a radio receiver 110,
wherein at least one of the short range receiver 108 and the radio
receiver 110 may be provided with transmission functionalities as
well. The short range receiver 108 and the radio receiver 110 may
be provided as separate logical and physical entities realized by
separate circuits comprised in the wireless reception circuitry, or
they may be physically in the same circuit. The short range
receiver 108 may comprise an analog reception circuitry including
an antenna and at least one amplifier arranged to amplify an analog
reception signal received through the antenna, at least one filter
filtering the analog reception signal to mitigate undesired signal
components, optionally at least one frequency converter configured
to frequency-convert the reception signal to the baseband, and an
analog-to-digital converter converting the analog reception signal
into a digital form for digital signal processing and data
recovery. In an embodiment, the antenna is typically based on a
coil structure enabling a reception of magnetic signal.
The short-range signal transmission and reception are described in
detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,346, which is hereby incorporated as
reference. The short-range signal, such as that based on inductive
transmission, may include identification structures, such as
sub-pulses, which can be used for associating the short-range
signal with an ad-hoc measurement, such as a heart rate
measurement. Thus, each short-range signal can be received
independent on each other at any time instant and identified
correctly.
The radio receiver 110 may comprise an analog reception circuitry
including a radio antenna, at least one amplifier arranged to
amplify an analog reception signal received through the radio
antenna, at least one filter filtering the analog reception signal
to mitigate undesired signal components, at least one frequency
converter configured to frequency-convert the reception signal from
the radio frequency into a baseband or to an intermediate
frequency, and an analog-to-digital converter converting the analog
reception signal into a digital form for digital signal processing
and data recovery. When the radio receiver 110 is equipped with
transmission capabilities, the radio receiver 110 is a radio
transceiver comprising additionally a digital-to-analog converter
converting a digital transmission signal into analog waveforms, and
an analog transmission circuitry including at least one amplifier
arranged to amplify the analog transmission signal, at least one
filter filtering the analog transmission signal to mitigate
undesired signal components, at least one frequency converter
configured to frequency-convert the transmission signal into the
radio frequency, and said radio antenna radiating the transmission
signal into the air interface.
In an embodiment, the radio communication devices 104 and 110 are
configured to provide a bidirectional radio communication link. To
define the short range communication devices 102, 108, their
wireless communication range (or a coverage area) is shorter than
the wireless communication range of the radio communication devices
104, 110. The short range communication devices 102 and 108 may be
configured to utilize a communication method based on magnetic
induction, and the induction-based transmitters are used in the
embodiments described herein. However, the short range
communication devices 102 and 108 may alternatively use another
wireless communication method having a short communication range,
e.g. radio transmission where the communication is based on
near-field radio transmissions in a near field of radio frequency
antennas, and a near field communication (NFC) technology.
In the embodiments of the present invention, two different wireless
communication technologies are used: a short range communication
technology utilizing a magnetic field, for example, and a
radio-based technology utilizing electric (radio frequency)
radiation. A difference between these two communication
technologies is that the short range communication technology has a
shorter wireless communication range than the radio communication
technology. In other words, the difference between the two wireless
communication technologies is signal attenuation as a function of
the length of a signal propagation path. When using the
induction-based communication technology as the short range
communication technology, the signal level is inversely
proportional to the third power of the length of the signal
propagation path, whereas in a typical radio-based technology, the
signal level is inversely proportional to the second power of the
length of the signal propagation path. A typical coverage of the
induction-based communication is of the order of human dimensions,
i.e. about 1.5 meters. This results in a dramatic difference in the
wireless communication range. This property causes that in a
typical environment, e.g. a gym, a room, or outdoors, the receiver
apparatus may receive numerous radio transmissions but only a
single short range transmission, and this fact may be used to
recognize the transmitter apparatus 100 with which the receiver
apparatus 106 should communicate.
The short range transmitter 102 may be a kilohertz-range inductive
transmitter, a passive radio-frequency identification tag, or a NFC
transmitter, for example. Correspondingly, the short range receiver
108 may be a kilohertz-range inductive receiver, a radio-frequency
identification tag reader, or a NFC receiver, for example. The
kilohertz-range transmission may operate at 5-kilohertz frequency,
for example. Higher frequencies, such as those exceeding 200
kilohertz, may also be possible. In an embodiment, the
kilohertz-range includes 125 kilohertz. NFC as a term may refer to
a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology
which enables communication over about a 10-centimeter
distance.
The radio transceiver 104, 110 may be a proprietary transceiver, or
a Bluetooth transceiver, for example. Emerging ultra low power
Bluetooth technology may be used, as its expected use cases include
heart rate monitoring. The proprietary radio transmission may
operate at 2.4-gigahertz frequency, for example.
The transmitter apparatus 100 further comprises a transmission
control circuitry 103 configured to control the transmissions in
the short range transmission circuitry 102 and in the radio
transmission circuitry 102. Similarly, the receiver apparatus 106
further comprises a reception control circuitry 109 configured to
control the short range reception circuitry 102 and the radio
reception circuitry 102. The communication control circuitries 103,
109 may be realized by one or more digital signal processors
configurable by one or more computer programs stored in one or more
memory units accessible by the communication control circuitries
103, 109, or they may be ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated
Circuit) implementations. Functionalities of the communication
control circuitries 103, 109 may be distributed to the
transmission/reception circuitries 102, 104, 108, 110, or dedicated
control circuitries 103, 109 as shown in FIG. 1 may be
provided.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the transmission
control circuitry 103 is configured to cause, i.e. control, the
short-range transmitter 102 to transmit a short-range signal 118
indicating to the receiver apparatus 106 a radio resource used for
transmission of a radio signal 114. Then, the transmission control
circuitry 103 causes, i.e. controls, the radio transmitter 104 to
transmit the radio signal 114 in the radio resource indicated with
the short-range signal 118. In the receiver apparatus 106, the
reception control circuitry 109 is configured to detect reception
of the short-range signal 118 in the short-range receiver, to
determine from the received short-range signal 118 the radio
resource 120 for the radio signal 114, and to control the radio
receiver 108 to receive the radio signal 114 in the radio resource
120 determined from the short-range signal 118 and to decode data
carried by received radio signal 114.
In practice, the short-range communication signal 118 is used to
identify the transmitter apparatus 100 so as to enable the receiver
apparatus 106 to receive and decode a correct radio signal 114. As
mentioned above, the receiver apparatus 106 may receive numerous
radio signals from different transmitter apparatuses but,
typically, it receives a single or only a few short range signals
118 because of the short wireless communication range of the short
range signal 118. In any case, the number of short range signals
received by the receiver apparatus 106 is less than the number of
radio signals received by the receiver apparatus 106, which speeds
up recognition of the correct transmitter apparatus 100. In an
embodiment, the radio signal 114 transmitted in the radio resource
indicated by the short range signal 118 is a Bluetooth inquiry
signal used in a pairing procedure 122 of a Bluetooth connection,
and the receiver apparatus 106 may detect the correct inquiry
signal on the basis of the short range signal indicating in which
radio resource the inquiry signal is received. Accordingly, the
pairing procedure 122 is facilitated. Upon completion of the
pairing procedure, information may be exchanged 124 between the
transmitter 100 and receiver 106 apparatuses over the established
Bluetooth connection.
In an embodiment, the radio transceiver 104, 110 is a
Bluetooth-based transceiver, such as Bluetooth Low Energy
(BLE).
In an embodiment, the radio transceiver 104, 110 is an ANT
transceiver originally introduced by Dynastream Innovations.
In an embodiment, the radio transceiver 104, 110 is a Zigbee
transceiver based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard or its derivative.
In an embodiment, the radio transceiver 104, 110 is a WiFi
transceiver based on IEEE 802.11x standard.
In an embodiment of the invention, the radio transceiver 104, 110
comprises at least two transceivers selected from the group
comprising: Bluetooth or its derivatives, ANT or its derivatives,
Zigbee or its derivatives, WiFi or its derivatives.
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate embodiments describing the wireless
communication between the transmitter and receiver apparatuses 100,
106 in two operational environments. The transmitter apparatus 100
and the receiver apparatus 106 together form a wireless
communication system according to an embodiment of the
invention.
Referring to FIG. 2A let us consider a scenario where the
transmitter apparatus 100 is a heart rate transmitter 202 worn by
the user 200, and the receiver apparatus 106 is another personal
exercise apparatus 204 also worn by the user. In this example, the
receiver apparatus 106 is a wrist computer 204. As both apparatuses
202, 204 are carried by the user, the apparatuses 202, 204 may be
configured to pair with each other so as to transfer data over the
radio communication link, e.g. a Bluetooth link. In order to enable
the wrist computer 204 to identify the heart rate transmitter 202
in an initial pairing, for example, the short range communication
link 118 is used. Accordingly, the transmission control circuitry
103 of the heart rate transmitter 202 causes the short range
transmitter 102 of the heart rate transmitter 202 to transmit a
short range signal 118 comprising information on a radio resource
in which the radio signal will be transmitted from the heart rate
transmitter 202. The radio resource indicated by the short range
signal 118 may include at least one of the following: a time
resource (reception time instant and optionally duration of a
reception time window), frequency resource (a radio
channel/frequency index), a spreading code resource, a frequency
hopping pattern index (particularly for Bluetooth), or any other
radio resource used for transmitting the radio signal.
Additionally, the short range signal may carry an identification
code of the transmitter apparatus, e.g. a MAC (Medium Access
Control) address. The short range signal 118 may carry a plurality
of different types of above-mentioned radio resource information,
e.g. a frequency channel index and a transmission timing of the
radio signal. The information on the radio resource may be encoded
into the short range signal 118, and the short range signal 118 may
carry the radio resource index in its waveform structure.
In an embodiment where the radio resource is the time resource,
duration or offset between transmission timings of the short range
signal 118 and the radio signal 114 may be fixed and, thus, the
short range signal 118 inherently indicates the transmission timing
for the radio signal 114 without needing to carry any data encoded
into the waveform of the short range signal 118. In other words,
the transmission timing of the short range signal 118 indicates the
radio resource of the radio signal 114 in such an embodiment.
The short range receiver circuitry 108 of the wrist computer 204
detects the short range signal 118 transmitted by the transmitter
apparatus. The reception control circuitry 109 determines the radio
resource from the received short range signal 118. Then, the
reception control circuitry 109 tunes the radio receiver circuitry
110 to receive in the determined radio resource. When the
determined radio resource is a time resource, the reception control
circuitry 109 configures the radio receiver to receive the radio
signal 114 at the determined timing. When the determined radio
resource is a time resource, the reception control circuitry 109
configures the radio receiver to tune into the determined frequency
and/or adapt to a determined frequency-hopping pattern. When the
determined radio resource is a spreading code resource, the
reception control circuitry 109 configures a correlator of the
radio receiver monitor for a spreading code sequence determined
from the received short range signal. Similarly, the reception
control circuitry 109 configures the radio receiver for other types
of radio resources determined from the short range signal.
The transmission control circuitry 103 of the heart rate
transmitter 202 then causes the radio transmitter 104 to carry out
the radio transmission 114 in the radio resource indicated in the
short range signal 118, and the radio receiver 110 of the wrist
computer 204 tuned by the reception control circuitry 109 to the
radio resource 120 is able to receive the radio transmission 114 on
the basis of the information determined from the received short
range signal 118. The transmitted radio signal 114 may contain an
identification code of the radio transmitter 104 and/or any control
information used in a pairing procedure. As a consequence, the
wrist computer 204 is able to execute the pairing procedure 122,
wherein the pairing may include exchange of information 122 between
the radio transceiver circuitries of the heart rate transmitter 202
and the wrist computer 204. Upon completion of the pairing 122,
heart rate information or other information may be transmitted 124
from the heart rate transmitter 202 to the wrist computer 204 over
the paired radio link. Such information may then be displayed or
played back to the user 200 through the user interface of the wrist
computer 204. The user interface of the wrist computer may comprise
a display, a loudspeaker, a keypad comprising one or more buttons,
a touch sensitive display, etc. Control information 124 configuring
the operation of the heart rate transmitter 202 may be transmitted
from the wrist computer 204 to the heart rate transmitter 202.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the short range transmitter 102 and
the short range receiver 108 may be switched off upon completed
pairing so as to reduce power consumption. Accordingly, in response
to detecting completed pairing for the radio connection, the
transmission control circuitry 103 is configured to cause the
shutdown of the short range transmitter 102. Similarly, in response
to detecting completed pairing for the radio connection, the
reception control circuitry 109 is configured to cause the shutdown
of the short range receiver 108.
In an embodiment, the reception control circuitry 109 of the
receiver apparatus 106 is configured to shut down the radio
receiver 110 and activate it upon detection of the short range
signal 118 and tuning the radio receiver to the radio resource
determined from the short range signal. Upon reception of the radio
signal 114 in the radio resource, the reception control circuitry
109 may again shut down the radio receiver 110 to reduce power
consumption of the receiver apparatus 106. This embodiment is
especially useful, when the receiver apparatus 204 is
battery-operated.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2B, the transmitter apparatus 100 is the
heart rate transmitter 202, and the receiver apparatus 106 may be
an exercise apparatus, such as a treadmill, an exercise bike, a
rowing machine, or a cross trainer provided at a gym.
In an embodiment, the receiver apparatus 106 is comprised in an
exercise computer of an exercise apparatus. In this embodiment, the
short range transmitter of the heart rate transmitter 202 is
controlled by the transmission control circuitry 103 to transmit
the short range signal 118 indicating the radio resource for the
radio signal 114, as described above.
In an embodiment, the heart rate information is transmitted in the
radio signal 114 in the radio resource indicated by the short range
signal 118. In this case, the heart rate transmitter 202 is
configured to transmit payload data, such as heart rate information
in the radio signal 114 and in the radio resource indicated by the
short range signal 118. The radio transmitter may be configured to
operate in a connectionless advertising mode, for example. The
transmission control circuitry 103 of the heart rate transmitter
202 causes its wireless transmission circuitry to transmit
repeatedly a signal sequence comprising first the short range
signal 118 indicating the radio resource for the radio signal 114
and, thereafter, the radio signal 114 carrying the payload data in
the radio resource indicated by the short range signal 118. Upon
reception of the short range signal(s) 118 through the short range
receiver 108, the reception control circuitry 109 tunes its radio
receiver 110 to the radio resource(s) determined from the short
range signal(s) 118 and receives and decodes the payload data from
the radio signals 114 received by the radio receiver 110 in the
determined radio resources. The decoded payload data may then be
further processed and displayed to the user.
In an embodiment, the reception control circuitry 109 is configured
to maintain the radio receiver 110 active all the time and tune the
radio receiver 110 to the radio resource determined from the
received short range signal. This embodiment may be applied to
cases, where the receiver apparatus 110 is connected to mains and
when there is practically limitless power supply.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the transmission of the measurement
data, e.g. heart rate information, may be communicated in a
connected state upon establishment of the paired connection, while
in the embodiment of FIG. 2B, the measurement data may be
transmitted in a connectionless state, e.g. when the transmitter
apparatus is in an advertising state. In order to support both
operation environments of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the transmitter
apparatus 202 may be configured to transmit the payload data as
described in connection with FIG. 2B until the pairing procedure is
triggered or completed. As a consequence, the communication mode
according to the embodiment of FIG. 2B is enabled by default, and
the communication mode may be switched to the communication mode of
the embodiment of FIG. 2A upon completion of the pairing procedure.
Then, the transmitter apparatus 100, 202 may be configured to carry
out the transmission of the payload data without indicating the
radio resources in the short range signal, as the radio signal may
carry an identifier of the transmitter apparatus 100, 202 enabling
the identification of the correct transmitter, or the correct
transmitter apparatus may be determined in another manner without
the short range signals, e.g. through radio communications
synchronized between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204,
106.
The embodiment of FIG. 2B may also be used when the receiver
apparatus 106 is the wrist computer 204 or another personal
exercise apparatus. The communication mode of FIG. 2B may be
triggered by disconnection and failed reestablishment of the paired
link. In other words, when the paired radio connection is
terminated abruptly, i.e. in an uncontrolled manner, the
transmission control circuitry 103 of the transmitter apparatus
100, 202 detects the disconnection and configures the short range
transmitter 102 to start transmit the short range signal indicating
the radio resource for the transmitted radio signal and the radio
transmitter 104 to transmit the heart rate information (or another
information) in the radio resource. Similarly, the reception
control circuitry 109 of the receiver apparatus 106, 204 detects
the disconnection and configures the short range receiver 108 to
receive short range signals, determine the radio resources from the
received short range signals, and tune the radio receiver 110
receive the radio signals in the radio resources. As a consequence,
upon failed radio connection, the communication may be continued in
a connectionless communication mode where the short range link is
used to point out the radio resources in which the radio
communication is carried out. In an embodiment, the radio
transmissions carry the payload data in the connectionless mode. In
another embodiment, the transmitter apparatus 100, 202 buffers the
payload data upon disconnection, controls the radio transmitter 104
to transmit pairing data in the radio resources until the new
pairing is successfully completed and, then, starts transmitting
the data stored in the buffers.
It should be noted that both the embodiments of FIGS. 2A and 2B are
both applicable to any implementation of the receiver apparatus
106, 204. In other words, the embodiment of FIG. 2B may be used
when the receiver apparatus 106, 204 is comprised in a personal
exercise apparatus, and the embodiment of FIG. 2A may be used when
the receiver apparatus 106, 204 is comprised in a non-personal
exercise apparatus.
FIG. 3 illustrates physical layer communication in an embodiment
where the radio resource indicated with the short range signal is a
time resource. In more detail, a time between the transmission of
the short range signal and the transmission of the radio signal is
fixed, i.e. the transmission timing of the short range signal
indicates the transmission timing of the radio signal. Similarly
for the receiver apparatus 106, 204, a reception timing of the
short range signal triggers the reception timing for the reception
of the radio signal. In the three graphs of FIG. 3, the horizontal
axis denotes time and the vertical axis denotes amplitude or
another metric proportional to the signal power. The upmost graph
illustrates transmissions of the short range and radio signals from
the transmitter apparatus 100, 202, the middle graph illustrates
interference, i.e. radio transmissions of other transmitter
apparatuses that may be received by the receiver apparatus 106,
204, and the bottom graph illustrates the actual reception of the
receiver apparatus 106, 204. Referring to the topmost graph, the
transmission control circuitry 103 of the transmitter apparatus
100, 202 causes the short range transmitter 102 to transmit a first
short range signal 300A at a given transmission timing from its
short range transmitter. As the time interval 304A between the
transmission timings of the short range signal and the radio signal
is fixed, e.g. 100 ms, the transmission control circuitry 103 waits
for the fixed time duration and, then, causes the radio transmitter
104 to transmit a first radio signal 302A.
As seen from the middle and the bottom graphs of FIG. 3, the
receiver apparatus 106, 204 may receive two other radio
transmissions 320, 322 quite close to the first radio signal 302A,
and it should determine which one of the signals is transmitted by
the correct transmitter apparatus 100, 202. The short range
receiver of the receiver apparatus 106, 204 receives the short
range signal 300B from the transmitter apparatus 100, 202 and, as
the fixed time interval between the timings 304B of the short range
signal and the radio signal is known also to the reception control
circuitry 109 of the receiver apparatus 106, 204, the reception
control circuitry 109 of the receiver apparatus 106, 204 configures
its radio receiver 110 to receive the first radio signal in a time
interval 306, wherein at least the start time for the radio
reception is computed from the reception timing of the short range
signal 300B by adding the known fixed time interval 304B to it. In
this embodiment, the reception control circuitry 109 may comprise
or be connected to a timer to count the fixed time duration from
the detection of the reception of the short range signal.
In an embodiment, the reception control circuitry 109 of the
receiver apparatus 106, 204 activates the radio receiver 110 to
receive on a physical layer for the duration of the first radio
signal 302A, i.e. for the duration of the time interval 306 and,
upon expiry of the time interval 306, the reception control
circuitry 109 deactivates the radio receiver to save power. The
duration 306 may include guard periods so that the actual duration
306 starts before the radio signal 302A, 312B and ends after the
radio signal 302A, 312A. The duration of a guard time may vary from
microseconds to tens of milliseconds.
In another embodiment, the reception control circuitry 109 keeps
radio receiver of the receiver apparatus active all the time, i.e.
it receives all the radio signals 320, 322, 302B. Then, the
reception control circuitry 109 may determine which one of the
radio signals is received at the correct time instant 304B after
the reception of the first short range signal 300B. As the
interference signals 320, 322 are received either too early (signal
320) or too late (signal 322) with respect to the reception timing
of the first short range signal 300B, they are discarded, and the
radio signal 302B received after the determined time interval 304B
after the reception of the first short range signal 300B is
selected for decoding.
Similarly, the transmission control circuitry may cause the short
range transmitter 104 to transmit a second short range signal 310A,
wait for the fixed time duration 314A and, then, transmit a second
radio signal 312A. Again, the receiver apparatus 106, 204 may be
able to receive also interfering radio transmissions 324, 326, but
on the basis of the reception timing of the short range signal 310B
and the known time interval 314B between the reception timing of
the short range signal 310B and the radio signal 312B, the
reception control circuitry 109 is able to configure its radio
receiver 110 to receive the radio signal during the appropriate
time interval 316 and to decode a correct radio signal.
In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the radio resource indicated with the
short range signal is timing. Then, the radio receiver 110 may be
configured to scan, at the determined reception timing, all the
frequencies known to be used by a radio protocol the radio receiver
110 supports. The same applies to other radio resources that are
not indicated with the short range signal but that are used for
transmitting the radio signal, i.e. the radio receiver 110 may be
configured to scan all or some of the frequency-hopping patterns,
spreading code sequences etc. possibly used by the radio
transmitter 104. The more different types of radio resources are
indicated by the short range signal, the less resources need to be
scanned by the radio receiver 110.
When there are multiple transmitter apparatuses 100, 202 according
to embodiments of the present invention close to the receiver
apparatus 106, 204, the receiver apparatus 106, 204 may receive
multiple short range signals. In such a case, the strong
attenuation of the short range signal may be used to determine the
transmitter apparatus 100, 202 that is closest to the receiver
apparatus 106, 204. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a short range
signal pulse. As conventional, the short range signal pulse
comprises a rising edge, a peak edge, and a fall time, as
illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates also a noise level. The
closer the transmitter apparatus is to the receiver apparatus 106,
204, the stronger is the signal pulse with respect to the noise
level (the noise level is on a lower level in FIG. 5), and the
longer is the pulse duration seen by the receiver apparatus 106,
204. Similarly, the greater is the distance between the transmitter
apparatus and the receiver apparatus 106, 204, the weaker is the
signal pulse with respect to the noise level (the noise level is on
a higher level in FIG. 5), and the shorter is the pulse duration
seen by the receiver apparatus 106, 204. In other words, the
shorter is the distance between the transmitter and the receiver,
the more the receiver receives the rising and falling edges of the
short range signal pulse. For example, for a 5 kHz inductive
transmission of 5 ms duration, the receiver sees the pulse to have
5 to 8 ms duration, depending on the distance between the
transmitter and the receiver (5 ms to the shorter distance and 8 ms
to the longer distance). According to an embodiment, the reception
control circuitry 109 of the receiver apparatus 106, 204 may
determine the correct transmitter apparatus by computing the pulse
duration for every short range signal received by the short range
receiver 108, and select the short range signal that is determined
to have the largest pulse duration. Then, the reception control
circuitry 109 of the receiver apparatus 106, 204 is configured to
determine the radio resource from the selected short range signal
and tune the radio receiver 110 to that radio resource.
When the radio resource is encoded as an index into the pulse
duration, the reception control circuitry 109 may compare the pulse
duration of the received short range signal with reference lengths
denoting the radio resource indices and determine the difference
between the pulse duration of the received short range signal and
the radio resource index it indicates. Then, the short range signal
having the highest difference with respect to the radio resource
index it indicates is selected as the correct short range signal.
For example, let us consider a case where a frequency channel 37 is
denoted by pulse duration of 9 ms, frequency channel 38 is denoted
by pulse duration of 13 ms, and frequency channel 39 is denoted by
pulse duration of 17 ms. The receiver may see the 9 ms transmission
as having duration between 9 and 12 ms, 13 ms transmission as
having duration between 13 and 16 ms, and 17 ms transmission as
having duration between 17 and 20 ms. For example, if the short
range receiver 108 of the receiver apparatus 106, 204 receives an
18 ms pulse and a 15 ms pulse, the reception control circuitry 109
may select channel 38 for the radio reception, because the 15 ms
pulse is 2 ms longer than the reference duration (15 ms-13 ms=2
ms), while the 18 ms pulse is only 1 ms longer than the reference
duration (18 ms-17 ms=1 ms), thereby indicating that the
transmitter apparatus transmitting the 18 ms pulse has a greater
distance to the receiver apparatus 106, 204 than the transmitter
apparatus transmitting the 15 ms pulse. Accordingly, the reception
control circuitry 109 tunes its radio receiver to channel 38 to
receive the payload data and/or pairing information.
When the radio resource indicated by the short range signal is a
time resource, when the time duration between the short range
signal and the radio signal is fixed, and when a plurality of
transmitter apparatuses close to the receiver apparatus 106, 204
are arranged to transmit the signals periodically with the same
periodic cycle, it is possible that the two transmissions collide.
As mentioned above, in an embodiment the transmitter apparatus is a
measurement apparatus (the heart rate transmitter) comprising a
measurement processing circuitry configured to execute measurement
signal processing. According to an embodiment, the transmission of
the short range signal is triggered by occurrence of a determined
event in the measurement. When the event in the measurement occurs
irregularly, it inherently induces the same irregularity to the
transmission of the short range signal and, thus, avoids continued
collisions between two (or more) transmitter apparatuses. When the
measurement apparatus is a biometric sensor, e.g. the heart rate
transmitter described above, the triggering event may be detection
of a determined event in biometric measurement data. For example,
when the measurement apparatus is the heart rate measurement
apparatus, the determined event in the biometric measurement data
may be the detection of an R waveform (or another waveform) in a
measured ECG (electrocardiogram) signal. Detection of the R
waveform triggers the transmission control circuitry 103 to cause
the short range transmitter 102 to transmit the short range signal
indicating the radio resource. Meanwhile, the measurement
processing circuitry may process the measured signal by computing
at least one of the following parameters: cardiovascular data such
as heart rate information, heart beat interval (e.g. RR interval)
heart rate variability data, energy expenditure data. Then, the
computed parameters are encoded for radio transmission and
transmitted from the radio transmitter 104 in the radio resource
indicated in the short range signal. The receiver apparatus 106,
204 receives the parameters from the radio transmission, as
described above, decodes the parameters and processes them into
exercise-related data that may be provided to the user in order
provide the user with information related to an exercise or to
control the execution of the exercise. To enable the irregular
transmission/reception timings, the reception control circuitry 109
may be configured to cause the short range receiver 108 to receive
short range signals asynchronously, e.g. the short range receiver
may constantly monitor for the short range signals. The same
analogy applies when the transmitter apparatus is comprised in a
stride sensor comprising an acceleration sensor and the measurement
processing circuitry. The transmission of the short range signal
from the stride sensor to the receiver apparatus may be triggered
by the detection of a determined event in the measured acceleration
information, e.g. detection of a determined acceleration waveform
arising from a step, for example. With respect to other measurement
devices, e.g. a positioning device, the short range transmissions
may be pseudo-randomized in time on the basis of a determined
random or pseudo-random sequence defining transmission timings for
the short range transmissions.
In an embodiment, the short-range signal is a measurement signal
carrying information on the measurement. The short range signal may
be transmitted upon detection of the determined event in the
measurement and, thus, the reception of the short range signal
indicates, in addition to the radio resource, occurrence of the
event in the measurement. For example, the receiver apparatus may
compute RR intervals from time duration between reception timings
of consecutive short range signal pulses.
Let us now consider a general wireless communication procedure
according to an embodiment of the invention with respect to a flow
diagram of FIG. 4. The process may be carried out in a wireless
communication apparatus, e.g. above-mentioned transmitter or
receiver apparatus. The process is started in block 400. In block
402, communication of a short-range signal indicating a radio
resource used for transmission of a radio signal is triggered. When
the wireless communication apparatus carrying out the process is
the transmitter apparatus 100, 202, block 402 includes transmission
of the short range signal. On the other hand, when the wireless
communication apparatus carrying out the process is the receiver
apparatus 106, 204, block 402 includes reception of the short range
signal. By definition, the radio signal has a longer wireless
communication range than the wireless communication range of the
short-range signal. In block 404, communication of the radio signal
in the radio resource indicated with the short-range signal is
triggered. When the wireless communication apparatus carrying out
the process is the transmitter apparatus 100, 202, block 404
includes transmission of the radio signal. On the other hand, when
the wireless communication apparatus carrying out the process is
the receiver apparatus 106, 204, block 402 includes reception of
the radio signal. In block 406, it is determined whether or not to
carry out another transmission. With respect to the transmitter
apparatus 100, 202, the determination may be based on at least one
of the following: availability of transmission data in transmission
buffers, whether or not to attempt to pair with the receiver
apparatus, and disconnection in the paired connection. With respect
to the transmitter apparatus, the determination may be based on the
decision, whether or not to configure the short range receiver for
reception of the short range signals. The decision may be based on
at least one of (un)successful pairing, and disconnection of the
paired connection. If it is determined in block 406 that another
transmission is to be carried out, the process returns to block
402. On the other hand, if it is determined in block 406 that
another transmission is not to be carried out, the process ends in
block 408. The termination of the process may include switching off
the short range transmitter/receiver and/or switching off both
short range and radio transmitters/receivers.
The process of FIG. 4 may be carried out in the communication
control circuitry 103, 109 of the wireless communication device
100, 202, 106, 204 according to an embodiment of the invention. The
process may be defined by a computer program product stored in a
computer-readable medium. The transmission medium may be a
transitory or a non-transitory transmission medium. The computer
program may be in source code form, object code form, or in some
intermediate form. The computer-readable medium may be a carrier
which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program.
Such carriers include a record medium, computer memory, read-only
memory, electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and
software distribution package, for example. Depending on the
processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a
single electronic digital processing unit or it may be distributed
amongst a number of processing units.
As used in this application, the term `circuitry` refers to all of
the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations, such as
implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry, and (b) to
combinations of circuits and software (and/or firmware), such as
(as applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s) or (ii) portions
of processor(s)/software including digital signal processor(s),
software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus
to perform various functions, and (c) to circuits, such as a
microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require
software or firmware for operation, even if the software or
firmware is not physically present. This definition of `circuitry`
applies to all uses of this term in this application. As a further
example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would
also cover an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple
processors) or portion of a processor and its (or their)
accompanying software and/or firmware. The term "circuitry" would
also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular
element, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor
integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated
circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other network
device.
It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as
technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in
various ways. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to
the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the
claims.
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